Sometimes change is needed and change is a good thing. Starting in April, we will have a new look and a new name: Serpent & Flame.
The first question I'll probably get is 'why?'. I've wanted to change the shop name for several years now but have been hesitant to pull the trigger. Over the last six years I've grown as a business owner and artisan. With this growth, 42 Nerdtastic Place doesn't feel like it fits me anymore.
Nothing about the products will change aside from labeling and my web address. There will be some scent updates, retiring blends and things like that. That was going to happen anyway.
-----------That's the TLDR story up there. Continue on if you want the story of my thought process.----------
Background Story Time (pull up a chair and sip some tea): I'm sure some of you remember when I was updating labels last year for readability. I was in a bit of a frustrated rut between people at conventions not being able to read wording and being rejected by some sub boxes for not having the vibe they wanted. After some reflection on how to get to the next level, I decided to turn to somebody who is the master of small labels: Mr. Grimoire Tea. (That's what I call Josh Alley in my head.)
The project began as a candle label reimagining. It became a full on rebrand after I made a comment to an extremely patient, sounding board friend.
"If I had known where the shop would be today when I started, I would have chosen a different name for it." Patient friend said something along the lines of 'What would your name be? ' and 'So change it.'
And it made sense. This is my life passion so it should be exactly as I want it to be.
Now, I went through about 50 name ideas to get there. The first name I chose wasn't Serpent & Flame. I had a white board that was constantly getting updated with ideas and changes. My family would look at the board and approve of some names, mispronounce other names (which immediately were rejected) and give side eye to a few. Most names weren't sitting quite right because I still wanted a brand name that referenced what I do and be very 'me' without being too generic or too complicated. (Someday if you ask nice, I can give you the list.)
I was sitting at my desk one night melting candle tops and trimming wicks, legit wearing snake print pants and looking at a sticker on my desk that says: Slytherclaw: intelligence without ambition is like a bird without wings. This combination made a light bulb pop on and I yelled "Serpent & Flame" at my desk. I don't know why these puzzle pieces gave me the result it did but it did. Since then, I knew that was the name of my shop. I wrote it big on my white board and kept going back to it with no doubts. That's my brand.
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Serpent is Slytherin, my house, but it also represents my youngest daughter and other favorite things like Loki & Crowley. Flame is indicative of candle flames, of course, but also my other mascot, Phoenix. (Which happens to be my oldest daughter's mascot as well) Of course, it also represents other favorites like Throne of Glass, Supernatural, Sailor Mars, Avatar, Aziraphale... and 90 billion other things.
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Needless to say, I'm excited. I'm ready for the change. Josh has been amazing with the designs he's been putting together for me. Sam has also been awesome translating things between designer and client while listening to my 90000 ideas we never used.
I will drop more design sneak peeks over the next weeks. The official first collection that will have the new labelling is April's Fairy Tale line. So I hope as you see things roll out, you'll be as excited as I am.
Love to you all. Thanks for reading and your continuous support. ❤️
-Amanda